Cushion for artificial dentures and wax-gum composition therefor



CUSHION FOR ARTIFICIAL DENTURES AND WAX-GUM COMPOSITION THEREFOR Julius Hollander and Bernard S. Sabreen, Philadelphia, Pa.

No Drawing. Application April 5, 1957 Serial No. 650,868

4 Claims. (Cl. 32-2) This invention relates to dental cushions for use with artificial dentures in order to compensate for looseness of fit of the denture, due in the main to gum recession, and constitutes an improvement over the cushion shown and described in our Patent No. 2,664,631.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a dental cushion such as that shown in our Patent No. 2,664,631, in which the fabric is impregnated with a waxgum composition which renders the cushion softer and more pliable and hence more adaptable or conformable to the denture.

Another object of the invention is to provide a dental cushion of the character described which is more adherent to the denture because it is tackier. Yet, it is not so tacky as to prevent separation of the cushions one from another when they are nested in packaged form.

A further object of the invention is to provide a dental cushion of the character described which is unusually resistant to fraying and to crystallization or flakmg.

And yet a further object of the invention is to provide a novel wax-gum composition per se which is flakeresistant and pliable at body temperatures and unusually durable, and hence can be applied to fabrics or other fibrous materials for use other than as dental cushions.

The present invention is applicable to dental cushions of any shape now known or which may be designed in the future but especially to the shape and construction as set forth in our Patent No. 2,664,631. Hence special drawings are not deemed necessary for inclusion herein.

The aforementioned objects are obtained by providing a composition comprising a water-insoluble wax having a melting point in excess of body temperature which is combined with a minor amount of a vegetable gum, such as karaya, acacia and tragacanth.

Any wax having the desired minimum melting point may be employed in the wax-gum composition but we have found that the best wax is a 50-50 mixture of Atlantic Refining Company 131 wax and Cities Service Pace maker D-30.

Atlantic 131 wax is a low melting, fully refined paraffin wax having the following physical properties:

Oities Service Pacemaker D-30 is a low melting re- Patented Aug. 4, 1959 fined microcrystalline wax having the following physical properties:

Melting point, F. (AMP) 128-130 Saybolt color, min 28 Tensile, min. 73 F p.s.i. 300 Heat stability min. F days 10 Oil content-max percent 0.25 Carbonizable substant Pass Taste and odor Nil The wax-gum composition may comprise from 0.1 to

10.0% by weight of the gum, the remainder being the wax. The composition which was found to have optimum properties for use with dental cushions constitutes a 50-50 mixture of Atlantic 131 wax and Cities Service Pacemaker D-30 admixed with 9.1% by weight of karaya gum.

In use, the wax is melted and the required amount of powdered gum is added thereto with constant agitation to keep the two immiscible ingredients in dispersion. A relatively thin piece of cloth, such as flannel, is dipped in the composition while the latter is still hot and under continuous agitation. The coated cloth While hot is conveyed between plates which remove the excess to the desired coating thickness. The coated cloth is then air cooled until the composition hardens. The excess composition may be manually removed by rolling the cloth while it is impregnated with the hot composition. The cloth is then stamped, cut or otherwise formed into U- shaped upper and lower denture cushions as illustrated in our Patent No. 2,664,631. The cushions are then nested and packaged for storage and shipment.

The final product is a cushion which readily conforms to the denture with good adherence thereto While possesssing, at the same time, unusual resistance to flaking, fraying and disintegration in the mouth. Attention is called to the fact that while the cushions are sufiiciently tacky to adhere to the dentures, they are not so tacky as :to adhere one to another during nesting.

We claim:

1. A cushion for an artificial denture consisting of a relatively thin layer of cloth of substantially U-shape impregnated with a composition comprised of a waterinsoluble paraffin wax which does not melt at body temperature and a vegetable gum.

2. A cushion for an artificial denture consisting of a relatively thin layer of cloth of substantially U-shape impregnated with a composition comprised of a waterinsoluble parafin wax which does not melt at body temperature and a vegetable gum selected from the class consisting of karaya, acacia and tragacanth.

3. The cushion of claim 2 wherein the wax-gum composition comprises 0.1 to 10.0 percent by weight of gum.

4. A cushion for an artificial denture consisting of a relatively thin layer of cloth of substantially U-shape impregnated with a composition comprised of a waterinsoluble paraflin wax which does not melt at body temperature and 01 to 10.0 percent karaya gum.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,138,909 Thoma May 11, 1915 2,188,796 Richards Jan. 30, 1940 2,392,513 Town Jan. 8, 1946 

1. A CUSHION FOR AN ARTIFICIAL DENTURE CONSISTING OF A RELATIVELY THIN LAYER OF CLOTH OF SUBSTANITALLY U-SHAPE IMPREGNATED WITH A COMPOSITION COMPRISED OF A WATERINSOLUBLE PARAFFIN WAX WHICH DOES NOT MELT AT BODY TEMPERATURE AND A VEGETABLE GUM. 